白棋 (bái qí) — white pieces (in chess, Go, or other board games)

Definition

noun
white pieces (in chess, Go, or other board games)
Measure word · 颗
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，白棋。
    Tā zài xià wéi qí, yòng le bái qí.
    He is playing Go and used the white pieces.
  • 白棋？
    bái qí Hé hēi qí gè yǒu duō shǎo gè?
    How many white and black pieces are there each?
  • 白棋，。
    Tā xǐ huan yòng bái qí, yīn wèi kàn qǐ lái gèng gān jìng.
    He likes using the white pieces because they look cleaner.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

白báiwhite
棋qíchess/Go pieces

'白' gives the color, and '棋' gives the pieces in a board game.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwooden
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí棋qí
Same sound today

棋 has 木 on the left, showing it was made of wood, and 其 on the right gives the sound.

Open 棋 →

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